Happy December
by Tyelle
Summary: Sirius shoved a tiny box into Remus’ lap. Remus lit up, and he ripped open the box. “Oh, my,” he said quietly. He quickly closed the box, and jumped into Sirius’ lap. Sirius laughed, and kissed him tenderly. Remus was blushing furiously.“Well? Wh


Title: Happy December

Author: Tyellemelduin (Haldir Fancier)

Rating: R

Disclaimer: Guess who owns nothing! Me!

Notes: Kind of a cowrite between me and the HF. She wrote the beginning, and I finished. Quite proud of it. Remus/Sirius pairing. No slash? No reading.

"Happy December" Sirius cried, bounding into the room. James, appalled that he could be up so early already, pulled his blanket over his head. Remus, instead, sat up and smiled blearily at Sirius.

"Happy December, Sirius"

"Guess where we're going in four days"

Peter, from the fourth bed from the door, muttered something.

"That's right" Sirius said, and flung himself across the end of Remus' bed. "Hogsmeade, lads. Christmas shopping. Now, you all have to make a list for me, so that I can"

"Four days" Remus asked quietly, morose. "Really"

"Yes, the fifth" Sirius replied, sitting up to look at him, and pushing long hair out of his eyes. "What's wrong with that? Oh..."

"I'll be... busy, then" Remus huffed, and pulled his knees to his chest. "The fourth into the fifth, anyway." Sirius reached out and placed a hand on his blanket-covered knee.

"I'll run with you."

"Of course you will, Sirius, but it's always the day after that I feel like shit. You... won't stay, will you"

James had evidently fallen back asleep. Likewise with Peter. The other boys hadn't awoken, except for Henry Adams, who had wandered off to the showers.

Sirius said"I don't- I mean, I always shop- for Christmas, you know..."

"I know" Remus said, sliding his feet back down. Sirius shifted so he could lie back with Remus, his head against Remus' arm.

"I suppose I could stay in, but I don't know when I'd go shopping any other time between then and Christ- ohh. Wait a moment."

Remus closed his eyes. "Sirius, you wouldn't."

"You know very well that I would, Remus. Six Christmases already, and you haven't learned. A pity. I am terribly sorry."

Remus snorted and put one hand over his face. "Oh, I do know you would, and that's what worries me."

"Well, when shall we go"

"The Sunday after next" Remus offered, with only the slightest hesitation.

"Certainly, we shall" Sirius agreed, grinning. Remus threaded his fingers absently through Sirius' dark hair, smiling to himself.

Four days later, James and Peter, Henry, Shaun, Robert and Casey were among the crowd of people outside the castle, waiting for the horseless coaches. Sirius sat on the edge of Remus' bed, just barely able to see the group out of the Gryffindor boys' room window.

Remus mumbled and shifted in bed, curling an arm around Sirius' thigh and pressed his cheek against him. Sirius reached down and stroked Remus' hair, pausing to run his finger across a long scratch on Remus' face.

The boys had gone out the night before at sunset, and into the Forest. Remus had been calm the whole way into the woods, just a seventh-year boy flanked by a huge dog and a stag, until the moonlight poured between the trees.

Sirius had jumped him and held him during the change, licking his face affectionately, and Remus had growled at him.

They'd run all night, and James and Peter went in early, at midnight, in anticipation of the trip to Hogsmeade, but Sirius stayed until dawn, and many of the scratches on Remus now were not from Remus himself, but from Sirius and his claws.

Remus moaned quietly, and Sirius stroked a hand down his arm. "Remus" Remus shook his head. Sirius smiled. "All right. Shall I close the drapes" Remus nodded, and curled back into himself.

Sirius rose and closed the drapes, and the room darkened. Remus went back to sleep.

By Saturday the 12th, Sirius was going half mad. "Remus! Remus, please can we go early? Please? James' list is half a kilometer long."

"You don't need to get him everything" Remus said mildly, turning pages in his Astronomy book.

"Speaking of James' list, look what I've taught it to do." Even though his attention span was remarkably short, Sirius had a talent in charms. He'd charmed the parchment to roll itself up and follow behind him when he walked. He pranced around the Common Room for a while, and Remus watched the parchment try to keep up.

"You'll wear away the charm" he said finally, and Sirius came back and sat down again.

"Fine. Can we go now"

"Sirius, no. I would like to get this Astronomy finished before..." Remus trailed off. Sirius was grinning. "What"

"We're going now, come on" Sirius leapt up from the table and caught Remus' hands. He pulled him out of the chair and across the Common Room.

"No! Sirius! Sirius, if we get caught..."

"We won't get caught" Sirius assured him, now pushing him up the stairs to the dormitory. "James' cloak is in his trunk. And put on a clean robe, will you"

"This is clean" Remus grumbled indignantly, and Sirius ignored him in favour of rifling through his own trunk for his money.

They left the Gryffindor dormitory at half past eleven, Sirius winked at the Fat Lady in passing, and the two of them went down to the statue on the third floor. A quick check around, and Sirius prodded the statue, muttering "Dissendium" and Remus stuffed the cloak down first. Sirius grabbed him 'round the waist and lifted him up, giggling quietly, and then followed.

He landed on Remus at the bottom, right on top of him, so conveniently that Sirius suspected he'd planned it that way. Remus wriggled, and Sirius leaned down to kiss him soundly.

"Ugh" Remus whispered after a moment, removing his hands from the back of Sirius' neck to lift himself up"the ground is damp."

Sirius scrambled off of Remus' stomach and helped him up, and picked up the cloak. He handed it to Remus, and then the Sirius-man disappeared, and Remus climbed carefully on to the back of the gigantic Sirius-dog.

They reached Hogsmeade by one o'clock, and crept up through the Honeydukes cellar, Sirius catching his breath. The place was empty, thankfully, but Sirius swept the cloak around himself and Remus. Remus giggled when Sirius' hands brushed his sides, ticklish.

"Moony, shush" Sirius hissed, and Remus pressed his lips together tightly. Sirius slid his arms around Remus' waist, and Remus squirmed.

They crept out of the shop together, pausing for a moment for Sirius to reach out and snatch a chocolate frog for each of them. Remus smacked his hand, and Sirius responded by biting him on the shoulder. Remus almost yelped.

Sirius bought James a new Quidditch tactic book, and Peter a map of the stars. Sirius sniggered while he paid for it, and Remus rolled his eyes.

"He doesn't even take Astronomy."

"I know" Sirius said, grinning, and rolled it up carefully. "With luck, he'll let me borrow it."

Remus found a magic sticky-brush for James, who always seemed to have dust and hair all over his robes (he did love the Gryffindor dorm cat), and a few rolls of film for Peter's camera. He used it for Quidditch matches, but seemed to always manage to run out before the end of the game.

Sirius found a sketchbook that, if one paused in the drawing or painting, the image would move, just like photographs. Sirius was enchanted, and Remus watched the pen and ink drawing of a cat for a while, before he was distracted by the camera film.

Sirius bought it for Casey, the dorm's resident artist, and quill ink in four colours. It was snowing when they came out of the art store. Sirius brightened, and Remus smiled, tilting his face up to the falling snow. Sirius slid his arms around Remus, trying not to whack him with the bags he carried, and kissed his neck. Remus shivered lightly, grinning, and rested his cheek on Sirius' temple. He looked over at Sirius' face, just below his chin, and saw his dark eyes twinkling at the silver sky.

There was an inch of snow on the ground already, and another gathering on the two young men as they entered the Robes and Fine Leathers store. Remus was laughing, and two girls by the front door turned, interested.

Sirius noticed, and raised an eyebrow, partially in warning. The blond witch on the left blinked, smirked, and leaned over to whisper something to her companion, and the two of them set to giggling, enough that Remus blushed, and Sirius hurried him on into the shop.

"Hey, do we know you?" The blond witch had come up behind the two boys. Sirius turned from looking at a tiny sewing kit.

"I d'no. Where are you from?" Remus cocked an eyebrow towards Sirius, who smiled back innocently.

"We live in town. We're just doing some Christmas shopping."

"Who isn't?" Sirius leaned back casually against the shelf. Remus came to stand next to him, and Sirius slipped his arm around his waist. The blond witch raised her eyebrows at them, and her companion, a skinny, redheaded girl, dragged her out of the store. She was still whispering. Sirius shrugged after them, and Remus laughed. Sirius picked up the sewing kit from the shelf and proceeded towards the register.

"Who's that for?" Remus asked curiously, peering over Sirius' shoulder.

"For Peter. He does always seem to tear things," Sirius replied. He paid the witch at the counter, and they walked out.

They ran for the Three Broomsticks pub, shivering from the gradually growing snowstorm outside. They sipped hot butterbeers in silence, Remus' gloved hand resting on Sirius' knee under the table. Finally, he removed his hand and leaned his elbows on the table.

"So," Sirius leaned on his elbows opposite him. "What did you get me for Christmas?"

"Not telling," he replied, smirking. "It's very special." Remus smiled, and threw a coin on the table. He stood, grabbing Sirius with him, and they left the tavern for the long walk back to school.

They returned to the castle around five o' clock with bulging shopping bags and cold noses, to find James awaiting them outside the one-eyed witch.

"Where've you two been? McGonagall's having kittens."

"Cute. Animagus humour," Sirius replied, smiling wryly and sprinting down the hallway. Remus trudged along behind him. James hung back with him, and grabbed a shopping bag from Remus' hand.

"Thanks," Remus muttered. His face was concentrated, and he was looking at the floor. He lifted his face once to check for teachers, but everyone was at dinner. He returned to staring at his feet as he and James walked along the corridor.

"What's wrong?" James asked. Remus smiled slightly.

"I'm trying to figure out what Sirius is giving me for Christmas." James grinned to himself. "You know already," Remus accused.

"Not telling," James replied, starting up the stairs. "He really wants it to be perfect." Remus whapped him on the back of the head, nearly sending him sprawling, and ran past him up into the Common Room.

* * *

"It's Christmas!" The light voice boomed right next to Remus' ear. He winced, and sat up.

"Morning, Sirius," he mumbled. He rubbed his eyes, and felt Sirius' arm around his waist. Sirius kicked the blankets down to their feet, and grabbed a wrapped present. Remus laughed, and kissed his forehead. Sirius nuzzled into Remus' neck. James bounded over from his bed, and jumped onto theirs.

"Happy Christmas!" He shouted, falling onto Remus' lap. Remus giggled.

"Happy Christmas, James."

"Ponce," muttered Sirius, enviously.

"Shall we?" Peter's squeaky voice came from his own bed. The four boys swept all of their presents onto the dormitory floor.

"Wow! This is great. Thanks Sirius," James exclaimed, ripping the wrapping paper off of the Quidditch book. He immediately stuck his nose into the book. Remus pushed the book out of his hands, and handed him another gift. James lifted his eyebrows as the paper came off of the magical lint brush.

"Remus," James glared at him. Remus grinned back. "I thought it might be useful."

"Thank you very much. But it's your turn!" He handed Remus a gift. Remus smiled ironically as he opened the moving wolf figurine. "This was very well thought out. Thanks, James."

"No problem," James said lightly, still bouncing. Sirius began to laugh.

"What's gotten into you today, James? You're no morning person," James threw a box at Sirius. "Just open this," he replied simply.

"You just can't stop playing jokes, can you?" Sirius cried, opening the box. It was a very large package of Band-Aids. Sirius took one out and stuck it on his elbow, where there was a large scrape. "Thanks."

"Wait," James said, "There's another one; a serious one. I promise." Sirius took the other smaller box from the floor in front of him.

"Wow, James," Sirius attached the watch to his wrist, "How did you know I wanted this?"

"A little werewolf told me," James said, winking at Remus across the circle.

Peter was ecstatic about his film, as was Casey about the art book. He hugged Sirius furiously when he opened it. James loved his broomstick caretaking kit from Peter, and Remus enjoyed his Transylvania Quidditch Team sweatshirt. Sirius laughed at him as the sweatshirt covered his head.

"What?" Remus' muffled voice came from inside the shirt. Sirius giggled.

"I don't see how you like Transylvania. They're terrible." Remus pouted as his head emerged from the opening. He didn't say anything back.

Sirius shoved a tiny box into Remus' lap. Remus lit up, and he ripped open the box.

"Oh, my," he said quietly. He quickly closed the box, and jumped into Sirius' lap. Sirius laughed, and kissed him tenderly. Remus was blushing furiously.

"Well? What is it?" Peter asked, leaning to try to see.

"Nothing too important," replied Sirius, still grinning at Remus, who was blushing furiously. Remus grabbed his present off of the floor, and handed it to Sirius.

"Here," he said, blushing even more. Sirius smiled and opened it.

"Wow Remus, this is gorgeous," he whispered. He lifted a ring out of the box and took a good look. "I was eyeing this the other day. You don't miss anything."

"Nope," said Remus. "I thought you'd like it." The other boys leaned in to see. The ring was silver, engraved with a wavy design, and it had a tiny jade stone set in the middle.

"The man in Durvish and Bangee's told me that is ring is Gaelic. He said the designs are ancient, and that they tell a story. But I can't imagine what that is. It's just a bunch of vines." Sirius hugged him around the neck.

"I love it," he said. "It's the best gift I've ever gotten." Remus blushed again, and rested his chin on Sirius' shoulder.

"Who wants breakfast?" Peter exclaimed, rising off the floor. The group laughed, and followed him down the stairs into the common room.

Other Gryffindors were prancing around with their gifts. James smiled cheerily, and the boys climbed through the portrait hole and headed to the great hall for breakfast.

* * *

Late that night, Remus sat completing some Defense Against the Dark Arts homework. The diagrams were complicated, involving a spell called a patronus. After a while, he gave up on it. He was too disoriented for homework.

Sirius' present had been on his mind all day. It was a simple glass tube, filled with sweet smelling oil. Remus had been fingering it in his pocket through all of his classes, his excitement showing through in his work. He had thoroughly overdone a transfiguration spell, turning a Slytherin boy into a very colourful peacock instead of a pigeon. The boy would have hit him, if James had not thrown himself at the boy in a full-bodied tackle. He enjoyed doing that, the rambunctious prick, Remus reflected, and smiled to himself.

But now Sirius wasn't even there. Remus hadn't the foggiest idea where he was. Doubtless he was off doing something illegal, or dangerous, or just stupid, he told himself, trying to feel better.

As Remus leaned over to put his books on his bedside table, he saw silvery words appearing in the air. He knew that Sirius was up to something and taking the opportunity to show off at the same time. The message read:

_Come to the seventh floor._

Remus sighed heavily, pulled on his dressing gown, and grabbed James' cloak from his trunk. He proceeded to walk out of the common room, startling the fat lady from a snooze, and climbed three flights of stairs. When he came to the seventh floor landing, another message appeared in the air. This one was lettered in gold.

_Walk to the end of the hallway._

Remus obliged, wondering what Sirius was doing. A third message, written in glittering red, hung in front of a door.

_Knock first._

Remus rapped quietly on the door. Strangely, although he passed this corridor to go to divination, he'd never seen this particular door before. The door in front of him opened, and Remus gaped.

The room was sparkling with large candles, which floated in the air. Besides the candles, the only thing in the room was a bed. It looked exactly like the four posters in the dormitories. Remus wondered why this room was any different than their own. Then he saw the special tiles lining the walls. This room was soundproofed.

Sirius emerged from behind the door and wrapped his arms around Remus from behind. Remus squeaked, and whirled in the circle of his arms. Sirius pushed the door closed behind them and pulled the cloak from Remus' shoulders, kissing him so sweetly that Remus thought he might faint. Only Sirius' arms were keeping him upright.

"Love you," whispered Sirius, very close to his ear. Remus grinned weakly into his hair, and mumbled incoherently. Sirius chuckled. He pushed Remus to arms length to look at him.

Remus' red-gold hair shone iridescently in the candlelight. The deep, brown wells of his eyes had sparks shining through, and his mouth was slightly open, like a small child's. Sirius smiled, and Remus melted.

He leaned forward and kissed Sirius gently, and felt Sirius' tongue swiping his lips. Remus made a little noise against Sirius' mouth, and he could feel Sirius smiling against his cheek. Their mouths opened, and Sirius moved them backward until Remus' knees were hitting the edge of the bed. They fell backwards onto it, and pulled the curtains shut.

No one outside of the room of requirement heard the cries of release late into the night.


End file.
